What to do on Thursday? A statement from the Spokesperson of the SPO

The election is close at hand and, while the Socialist Party of Ontario will not form the next government of Ontario, we have been getting many positive inquires as well as membership requests. Both of our campaigns have been spreading a message of socialism and hope in their communities.

We have also received numerous emails requesting advice as to how to vote in ridings without a Socialist candidate.

This has been a terribly disenfranchising election for many with, as the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty noted of the NDP, Liberals and Tories:

The only differences between the three parties is how much austerity each plans to impose and how quickly they intend to do it. All Parties agree that working class people and poor communities should pay for the crisis while the rich get a free ride. At most, the parties disagree about whether or not to throw a few crumbs at us as we sink deeper into poverty.

The SPO is focused on party building and are an election away from running a far larger slate of candidates. In the wake of what we hope will be a minority government we plan to work to build more Socialist riding associations and to try to plan ahead with any independent labour candidates and any other anti-capitalist parties towards a goal of coordinating anti-capitalist candidates in the next election.

If you are fortunate enough to live in a riding with a genuine anti-capitalist candidate, we think they deserve strong consideration.

In this election, the SPO unequivocally rejects the Conservative and Liberal parties and while we understand why many might wish to vote against the Tories "strategically", we cannot endorse voting for the austerity Liberals running in any riding in this province.

The Ontario NDP has run a disgraceful campaign that directly repudiates its socialist and social democratic roots and does not deserve broad support. In some ridings, such as Davenport, if you have an NDP candidate with a genuine and proven anti-capitalist record, the ONDP may still remain an option for some voters. But there are very few of these ridings.

The Green Party, equally, has some good candidates in some ridings as well, such as in Trinity Spadina, but again lacks an agenda that seriously challenges capitalism and austerity.

In many cases, the option of declining one's ballot seems an entirely legitimate option when the parties are so lackluster. If you choose to decline your ballot, it sends a message that you reject the farce that these "choices" represent.

The clear and unequivocal lesson of this election is that Ontario needs a Socialist option in every riding or a Left Front coalition represented by Socialist,  independent labour, Communist and other anti-capitalist candidates.

We look forward to working towards this in the immediate aftermath of Thursday's results.

Natalie Lochwin
Spokesperson, Socialist Party of Ontario